The Effect of Green Tea Ingestion and Interval Sprinting Exercise on the Body Composition of Overweight Males: A Randomized Trial.

Daniel Gahreman,Stephen Boutcher,Judith Freund,Mehrdad Heydari,Yati Boutcher

doi:10.3390/nu8080510

Daniel Gahreman, Stephen Boutcher + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/nu8080510

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Abstract

The combined effect of green tea ingestion and interval sprinting exercise on body and abdominal fat of overweight males was investigated. Participants were randomly assigned into control (C), green tea (GT), interval sprinting exercise (ISE), and green tea and ISE (GT + ISE) groups. The GT, GT + ISE, and C groups consumed three GT capsules daily. The ISE and GT + ISE groups completed 36 ISE sessions over 12 weeks. Forty eight overweight males with a mean BMI of 28.5 ± 0.92 kg/m2 and age of 26 ± 0.7 years acted as participants. There was a significant reduction in total and abdominal fat mass for the ISE and GT + ISE groups, p < 0.05, however, total and abdominal fat mass did not significantly change in the GT and C groups. There was a significant increase in total lean mass, p < 0.05, after the intervention for the ISE and GT + ISE groups only. There was a significant increase in fat oxidation during submaximal aerobic exercise, p < 0.05, after the intervention for the ISE, GT + ISE, and GT groups with no change for the C group. Following the 12-week intervention the ISE and GT + ISE groups, compared to C, recorded a significantly greater decrease in body and abdominal fat, and a significant increase in total lean mass. Ingestion of green tea by itself, however, did not result in a significant decrease in body or abdominal fat, but increased fat utilization during submaximal exercise. The combination of 12 weeks of GT ingestion and ISE did not result in greater total and abdominal fat reduction compared to 12 weeks of ISE alone.

Highlights

Aerobic exercise and dieting have been the major strategies used to combat the increasing worldwide prevalence of obesity [1]
Numerous studies have shown that aerobic exercise does not result in significant total body fat loss unless high volumes of exercise are performed [2]
There was a significant increase in total lean mass for the green tea (GT) + interval sprinting exercise (ISE) (p < 0.05, d = 0.23, +0.57 kg) and ISE (p < 0.05, d = 0.26, +0.56 kg) groups after the intervention with no significant change for the other two groups (Table 2)

Summary

Introduction

Aerobic exercise and dieting have been the major strategies used to combat the increasing worldwide prevalence of obesity [1]. Numerous studies have shown that aerobic exercise does not result in significant total body fat loss unless high volumes of exercise are performed [2]. Severe dieting has been found to result in some fat loss in the short term but of those who lose body fat over 90% will put the fat back on within five years [3]. There are a number of unhealthy consequences that accompany severe dieting, such as a significant decrease in skeletal muscle mass [4]. This lack of success has generated interest into other fat loss strategies, such as green tea (GT) ingestion [5] and participation in interval sprinting exercise (ISE) [6]

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